[Leishmaniasis in peninsular Spain. A historical-bibliographic review (1912-1985)].

Abstract

A bibliographic-historical review of leishmaniasis in Spain during the period 1912-1985 is carried out. The bibliographical prospecting has allowed to collect a total of 402 works; out of them only 79 are included in this review. From reading them, it can be deduced that, starting from its discovery in the coast of Levante in 1912, leishmaniasis has been a very well known disease in Spain, during the first third of our century, period in which a remarkable prevalence took place, as it follows from the works published basically by Pittaluga and colleagues. In them, plentiful clinical and epidemiologic data are collected, many of them having laid the foundations of this disease knowledge in our country. Nevertheless, the extrapolation of data from other geographical regions introduced confusions, which have continued till recent time, basically on what refers to the existing relation between the aetiological agent and the clinical case. On the other hand, nowadays, current important matters such as the part of person's immune response in the appearance of a visceral or cutaneous case of leishmaniasis, independently from the parasites specific identity or the presence of asymptomatic leishmaniasis, are already found in pioneer works. In the course of the work, a review is made of the information, obtained form the Spanish bibliography, on the leishmaniasis aetiological agent in Spain, the vector and the host as well as the various clinical cases of human and canine leishmaniasis, their epidemiology, diagnostic and treatment.